BMW X3 MK3 Factory Tow bar
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VW Tiguan2 R Line with factory fitted tow bar.
It is a Westfalia retractable.
Perfect operation pulling 1550kgs caravan.
All wiring integral with the car. The switched and permanent live are integral with the cars system with fuses on one of the main fuse boards.
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Solution for me is use the mover.
On sites abroad, you need the mover to get onto the pitch anyway, as generally its not possible to position the caravan with the car.
On sites in UK with plenty of room to reverse, when you get onto the pitch, you have to remember to 'decompress the hitch' to avoid it touching the bumper after detachment, and you need to position the caravan wheel to accept the Alko lock - all easily achievable with the mover, with no risk of damaging the car's bumper
Even on Caravan club sites, I still use the mover to get onto the pitch from the site road.
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I "expect" nothing. Nothing at all. This is what I actually posted
"Perhaps we should have a sticky. Car caravan an towbar combinations that work in the real world?"
A suggestion, some might find helpful, others clearly not.
It would appear that some members are content with a few mm clearance or prepared to use a mover to avoid damaging their car. That's fine and up to the individual.
I don' t think I am alone by finding that unacceptable especially as its not nessesary.
I will post on my real world findings with the Sorento for those who insist on rather more comfortable clearance in due course.
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But you seem to be expecting more clearance between the towball and the rear bumper than is absolutely necessary to allow full articulation between the car and the caravan. I personally haven't come across a single case of a factory fitted towbar being an absolute 'no-go' with an AlKo hitch so, on that basis, all such combinations can be considered to work 'in the real world'.
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What I expect is a tow bar and ball with enough clearance to reverse my car up to the caravan and hitch it up without issues. Not that it will articulate with 1mm clearance!
It would appear from comments and my own findings that there are some cars fitted with factory towbars that have insufficient clearance to do this.
I for one would prefer to know which ones these are so I can avoid them.
Merc ML MM? Proper towcar mate.
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Obviously I've no idea how the Jeep would've towed. Jeep has 8 speeds vs Mercs 7 but the Merc has a few more torques & bhps than the Jeep. There were swings & roundabouts with various specs & numbers.
The Jeep I looked at didn't have a towbar so would've needed one fitting but when I looked at the spec of the Merc it stated 'detachable' but it turned out to be a swivelly down type. 👌
I have to admit that I'd always had reservations about the FIAT part of JEEP and perhaps that subconsciously pushed to me to the badge I already had. And the Jeep's parking brake, though similar to what I had my R Class was just in the way of my left foot ... & (rightly or wrongly) I use two feet to drive my autos.
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To the centre of the ball - also vertical clearance would be helpful - photo even more so.
Like Fysh I Iike a towball to have proper clearance i.e at least 20mm, unlike some who clearly are happy with 1mm and presumably a frequently scuffed bumper !
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Agree with Lutz, if the hitch doesn't touch the bumper then there is enough clearance,half a milli is clearance as is 10 milli. If you fit a new door at home and it catches the carpet you don't cut 6" of the door, you cut enough just to clear the carpet.
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Your analogy is as bad as my example
, I'm certain a brain surgeon would rather have 10mm clearance than half a millimetre when operating close to something that may get damaged.This discussion for and against clearance is a bit silly, obviously the more clearance the more likelihood there is of avoiding damage when hitching/unhitching, unless you are perfect. Of course limited clearance will work as designed but having a bit spare is always a good thing.
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I quite agree. A larger margin of safety is better than a smaller margin, but one person can live with 5mm clearance another may want 20 or more, so where does one set the limit? The only limit that will always apply is when the clearance is zero.
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New Tiguan SEL factory fit - 85mm centre of ball to bumper.
Has car 18 months, no marks on bumper!
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